Feature Articles
Storing Food Safely
Barbara Willenberg, Former Associate State Nutrition Specialist
Jo Britt-Rankin, State Nutrition Specialist
Store food as soon as you get home from grocery shopping. Refrigerate or freeze perishable foods like meat, poultry or fish right away to keep it fresh. If you will not use perishable foods within several days, freeze it. Keep fresh eggs in their carton in the refrigerator.
Leave meat, poultry and fish in the store packages when
you put them in the refrigerator. Be sure to cover
packages with plastic bags or put them on plates to keep
blood from dripping onto other food. Before freezing,
cover foods with freezer wrap to prevent freezer burn.
Freezer burn won't make you sick, but it does make meat
tough and tasteless.
Keep fruit and vegetables in the refrigerator
Fresh fruits and vegetables will keep longer in the
refrigerator. Potatoes, onions and garlic will remain
good for a long time in a cool, dry place like an
unheated room. A basement or cellar can be used if they
are not damp. This is also a good place to store extra
canned goods. Don't store food where it will freeze
during the winter months.
Baked goods, like bread, will stay fresh at room
temperature for several days. The refrigerator causes
bread to get stale. If you have extra bread, freeze it.
Store canned foods in the coolest kitchen cabinets, not
over your stove. Keep cans away from household cleaning
products and leaky pipes. Put new cans at the back of
your cabinet so you will use older ones first.
Caution: If you notice that a can is bulging or leaking,
don't use it! It could be dangerous. Other danger signs
are bad odor or foaming when you open the can. Even a
tiny taste of spoiled home-canned foods, could make you
sick or cause death!
Read University of Missouri Outreach & Extension guide
GH1451, "Before You Start to Can-Learn the Basics" to
learn how to get rid of spoiled canned food. This guide
can be found at
http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/hesguide/foodnut/gh1451.htm.
Last Updated 10/25/2007
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